Details of Ireland’s first co-housing project for “middle-agers” will be unveiled on Monday as a “transformative option for the over 55s” which could “free-up” thousands of family homes, says those behind it.
Co-housing Communities Ireland (CCI) aims to fill a gap in the housing market it says is faced by middle-aged and older people who no longer need their current homes but do not want supported housing for older people.
“When you look at what’s out there for people like me,” say co-founder Ana Dolan, “there aren’t many options. Most apartments are rentals and can be quite isolating, and we don’t want to take up a space in sheltered housing.”
Ms Dolan, who is in her 60s and widowed, describes her four-bedroom home in South Dublin as “old with high ceilings and hard to heat”. The amount of investment that would be needed to bring it up to even a B energy rating is prohibitive, she says.
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Only half the house is used, she says. “I want to move on. I’d like to travel, be able to pick up and go but still be part of a community.”
CCI, which has about 20 interested members mortgage-free and homeowners, has identified a site in Dublin 6. It plans to develop about 20 A-rated homes in a self-contained development, which could include an additional communal dining area, gym, sauna and landscaped gardens, co-owned and managed by the residents.
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“We are looking for more people to join us,” says Ms Dolan. “We are starting to build our group of people interested, who see this as freedom and opportunity.”
A gap in policy, however, says CCI, is that the fit and healthy over-55s are not recognised as a cohort with distinct housing needs, in the way for instance students or older people are.
A Department of Housing spokesman pointed to policies to support older people “to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence”.
He cited the 2019 statement, Housing Options for Our Ageing Population, which provides policy options in support of a range of housing and accommodation alternatives for older people.
It does not, however, mention co-housing or approaches to encourage middle-aged people move on from homes that no longer meet their needs.
Neither the programme for Government nor Housing For All, the Government’s central housing policy document, refers to co-housing as a potential vehicle for housing delivery.
CCI is calling for measures from Government and local authorities, including recognition of those aged 55 and over as a “distinct housing category”; zoning of specific areas for chousing projects, and, that local authorities and the Land Development Agency make suitable sites available.
The Department of Housing spokesman said the “Housing for All policy objective to make more efficient use of existing housing stock includes exploring options to support and incentivise right sizing on a voluntary basis.
“The department continues to work on a broader policy approach on right sizing.”
In December, CCI visited the Cannock Mill co-housing in Colchester, England, a community of 26 homes for over 55s that opened in 2019 – a project CCI would like to emulate.
According to its website, each Cannock Mill householder has their own self-contained, private home.
“We manage and share the use of our grounds and communal spaces – most importantly our ‘common house’,” it says. “We enjoy working together and socialising together (especially eating together) but not to the exclusion of individual interests.”
Cannock Mill, located about an hour’s train journey from London, has a waiting list of prospective buyers into the community.
Also on the fact-finding trip were representatives from the Housing Agency and the Department of Housing.
